The present invention relates as indicated to portable hydrogenerating apparatus, and relates more particularly to a novel apparatus which utilizes the potential energy of the head or pressure of the water for conversion into electrical energy.
It is of course common practice to utilize hydroelectric power plants which are driven by heads of water resulting from the damming of rivers, streams, lakes or the like so as to confine and temporarily store the water, together with controlled release of the water so as to provide the necessary head for converting the potential energy of the water into electrical energy. Large power dams are particularly prevelant in the western parts of the country, and have been utilized to produce vast amounts of electrical energy.
Dams of the type described have also served other useful purposes, for example, the creation of vast amounts of acreage of fresh water recreational areas, sources of irrigation, and flood control. However, in the dams of the type described, the dam is an essentially permanent construction, and extremely costly to construct, particularly where relatively large bodies of water are to be controlled. Moreover, the ecology of vast regions surrounding the dam is frequently affected, as a result of the damming and the consequent flooding of areas surrounding the dam. Environmental and ecological concern are becoming vastly more important in the decision making processes, and as a result it is becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain approval for dam sites. A further difficulty is that the damming operation necessarily controls, and normally restricts, the water which would otherwise be available downstream of the dam site, thereby creating controversial legal claims to the water rights.
A still further disadvantage of existing dam constructions is the substantial difficulty and economic cost of effecting dam repair. Frequently, release of the water behind the dam is necessary which can result in substantial amounts of water passing either downstream of the dam or laterally of the dam. Where the dammed-up water is used for irrigation, this obviously prevents a severe problem, not to mention the loss of electrical energy which results from the loss of potential energy, which loss continues until the water level has again reached its previous operable level.
The above problems have been to some extent dealt with in the prior art. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,123 to Tsuneo Ueda, there is disclosed a hydraulic power plant in which a penstock extends from the reservoir upwardly over the top of the dam and downwardly therefrom in a downstream direction to a water turbine. A vacuum pump is located in the region of the penstock positioned on top of the dam so as to provide a siphon effect in the penstock so as to draw the water from the reservoir upwardly through the penstock and then downwardly to the turbine. Thus, a more restricted path of water flow is provided, although the penstock must be utilized with an existing dam construction. Thus, the concept of portability is totally lacking in the Ueda disclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,827 to Gerald J. Schneider discloses an apparatus for intercepting, containing and distributing rain water in areas where saline water is the only source of water supply. An elaborate system is provided for conserving and distributing the rainfall, with the system including a relatively small duct which communicates with a penstock and turbine for deriving electrical power. Again, however, the construction is relatively permanent and not adaptable to various environmental conditions wherein heads of water are naturally located and from which electrical energy can be derived.